


Breathe In, Breathe Out

by soft_but_gremlin



Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Missions Gone Wrong, Struggling to breathe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:47:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26990893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soft_but_gremlin/pseuds/soft_but_gremlin
Summary: Plo's never been in an actual real-life battle before. Not until today.(Whumptober day 13: breathe in breath out/(anti) oxygen mask)
Relationships: Plo Koon & Tyvokka
Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946629
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Breathe In, Breathe Out

This wasn’t supposed to turn into a battle.

Missions weren’t  _ supposed _ to turn into fights. Jedi were supposed to  _ resolve _ conflicts, not create  _ new _ ones. Plo had never been in an actual battle before.  _ His _ Master was very good at resolving conflicts without having to resort to violence. 

Plo was starting to think that his friend Qui-Gon’s Master didn’t have that talent.

Plo had never had to use his lightsaber outside of the training salles, but he was well aware of his deficiencies. He struggled to keep his elbows up in proper formation, especially when he was tired. He often forgot proper footwork, and would get off-balance when thinking too hard about where his lightsaber was going rather than his feet. He tended to focus on one enemy to the point of losing track of any others in the room with him. Worst of all, he had difficulty staying in the flow of the Force while also focusing on a fight.

These flaws, combined with the blind spots he had due to his mask, made for critical weaknesses that Master Yoda often warned could be used against him.

Instinctively, Plo gasped as he felt his mask get ripped from his face. The air burned with oxygen, and it was all he could do to keep from coughing and worsening the situation. He squeezed his eyes shut as he brought his arms up to protect his face, screaming out to Tyvokka in the Force and trying to sense out where his mask had gone.

Suddenly, there was a sharp blow to his side, and Plo couldn’t help but cough and then choke on the poisonous air around him. He instinctively shoved out with the Force as he was knocked to the ground, dropping his lightsaber. He curled tightly to protect his vital organs, struggling to breathe as his lungs burned.

How long were normal Kel Dor supposed to be able to deal with an oxygen-rich environment before things became dangerous? Two minutes? Three? How long had it been? Normally, he was able to hold his breath for seven minutes, but he’d panicked. That may be his undoing.

And he’d been so excited to celebrate being Tyvokka’s padawan for a whole year next week.

He was starting to get dizzy when he heard the loud Wookie roar. He still had no idea where his mask was, thought someone might have made off with it. His biggest regret was that he’d have to do this in front of Tyvokka. His Master was always so good and kind and wonderful. He didn’t deserve to have such a disappointment for a Padawan.

He was just on the edge of falling asleep when someone roughly grabbed him off the ground, shaking him back to consciousness. He whined weakly in protest.

Then, a mask was pressed against his face, and he gasped. It beeped in protest, warning him that it wouldn’t be able to filter properly unless he took slow, measured breaths. He struggled to get his breathing under control, gripping the mask tightly, and felt his Master’s presence envelop him, both physically and in the Force. Tyvokka was grumbling words at him, though in his dizzy, panicked state the Shyriiwook eluded his understanding. In the Force, though, Tyvokka was radiating calm, safety, and comfort. Plo clung to his presence like a lifeline.

Once Plo’s head had cleared a little bit, and his lungs felt a little less on fire, he managed to fasten his mask properly, fully sealing it around his mouth and eyes so that there was no risk of oxygen getting in.

“Sorry Master,” he whispered.

“ _ None of that, my dear Padawan _ ,” his Master grumbled in Shyriiwook, clutching the tiny Kel Dor tighter and rubbing comforting circles into his back. “ _ This was not something you could control. _ ”

With that, his Master got back to his feet, Plo still in his arms. Plo grabbed a fistful of Tyvokka’s robe to steady himself, though he knew that Tyvokka would never drop him.

“ _ Focus on your breathing, Padawan _ ,” Tyvokka said as he started walking. Plo had no idea where they were going. He didn’t even know if the battle was over. “ _ Breathe in. Breathe out. _ ”

It didn’t matter. The one thing that Plo  _ did _ know was that he was safe, and that his Master would protect him.


End file.
